How do you keep yourself exercising is you hate it?

[Youbutterbelieve]

I know I have to exercise to retain my health and mobility. But the only exercise I enjoy (and therefore do) is hiking and that's reasonably sporadically due to work and young kids.

I need to include more regular exercise in to my life, ideally resistance/ weight stuff. But I hate it. I'm one of the 12% of people who doesn't get exercise induced endorphins, so I don't get a clear benefit from having done it - makes maintaining a routine so much harder!

I'm not overweight and I'm reasonably fit (can easily hike 15-20miles a day, multiple days) but I know I need to be more regular.

How do maintain an exercise routine if you hate it?

Walk kids to school - run home. Job completed with minimal time out of your day and it’s part of your routine so you don’t have to think about it.

Can you do something you enjoy anyway that happens to be exercise?
Do you enjoy dancing, swimming, cycling, tennis, squash, digging the garden?
If not, do 10 minute HIIT/full body workouts with the heaviest weights you can tolerate without injury. Anyone can manage to do something they dislike for 10mins if it gives great health benefits in return.

Doing it first thing so it's out of the way helps me. I do get the high afterwards, but seem to forget about it between times. I often pep talk myself into running or lifting weights tbh.

The key for me is other people. I did couch to 5k then joined a gentle running group, and I do some fitness classes. Having something to do at a pre-arranged time means I get up and go, and having friends to chat to as we run makes it more enjoyable. I don't look forward to the running itself, but to the hour spent with my friends.

I think you just do it enough times because well, it’s just got to be done like making dinner or cleaning the loo, until it just becomes your routine, something you just do, without thinking about it.

I also like accountability so I have many apps (I do like to tick off) and my DP also goes to my gym and I don’t like him beating me.

Exactly this for me too.

I feel like I wasted years trying to enjoy it and failing to and it's really liberating to just accept it's one of those things that isn't fun but I do anyway

Ha, depends where your kids school is!

For me this would be under 5 mins of exercise

I don't really like exercising, but I dislike being overweight and unfit even more. And I do like being able to eat cake and drink wine. So here we are...

If you like walking can you add that into your daily routine? I walk two hours each day simply going to and from work. Will always walk to shops etc.

Small group PT, Ive made friends, love the environment - honestly changed my life. Its mostly strength/weight training.

I agree with a PP who mentioned the older generation who were often active without doing any formal exercise. This is certainly the case for my parents and grandparents who had quite physical jobs and generally didn't do the labour-saving things many of us do.

My 82 year old neighbour has an allotment, cleans her own house, walks to the shops several times a week instead of driving there, and carries her shopping home. She seems to barely use her car. Very fit and healthy.

I don't get any kind of endorphin rush from exercise but I do feel better mentally, and I sleep better, when I exercise regularly, so I've found things to do that I don't mind too much, and I treat it - as others here do - as chores which just have to be done. I schedule them in much as I do the cleaning and grocery shopping, and it's become a habit. I also live somewhere where I can do all my local (less than 1-2 miles) errands on foot or bicycle, and I do this for the health and environmental benefits (plus the traffic is honestly terrible so it's just as quick.

I book a block pf classes so I'm committed. I also get there early and do a 30 min work out before class

And i walk my son to school which is a hour a day

I am with you OP! I do weight training because I want to hike and I need to keep strong and fit to do that - that is my inspiration. I also do short hikes mid-week with a weighted backpack which I guess helps a bit.

I don’t love exercise either other than walking. I make myself go to the gym. I wfh so I go in my lunch hour which means I begrudge it a bit less.

The best way I find of forcing myself to go is to dress in gym clothes first thing. If I really don’t fancy it, I tell myself I’ll just drive there and if I still don’t fancy it I’ll come back. Then I tell myself I’ll just do 10mins on the treadmill or cross-trainer. I have never once driven home and I have never once done only 10mins so it works.

I like the treadmill and cross-trainer, I never make myself do the bike or rower coz I hate them. I like the weights machines and I like seeing the improvement in my strength.

I didn’t exercise for 2 years. Now I’m back doing this I have seen a good improvement in my stamina and strength. I really don’t do much, sometimes it can be 10mins cardio and 2 weight machines. When I get into a good run it can be 30mins cardio and 8 weights exercises. Something is still better than nothing.

I joined the gym and made friends. One friend is way more energetic than me and we talked each other into the gym before aqua in the morning. Tried it this morning and it was great. I would never have done it on my own.

Gretchen Rubin is great on this gretchenrubin.com/podcast/490-very-special-episode-dozens-of-hacks-for-getting-regular-exercise/#:~:text=For%20most%20people%2C%20exercise%20will,that%20will%20make%20us%20happier.

Understanding my own tendencies has helped me to put stuff in place - joining a gym nearby, making friends so that there is someone relying on me turning up to class, keeping my gym bag packed with clean gym clothes in the boot of my car, using a fitness app to track streaks that I want to keep going etc.

None of these would necessarily work if I had different "tendencies" as she calls them! It's about understanding myself and then working with that.

Finally, seeing my relatives age and the difference between the active and inactive ones gives me a little extra boost of motivation too

If walking is what you enjoy, do that! It’s great for cardiovascular health and much lower impact and prone to causing injuries than running.

If you can fit in a 20m brisk walk before walk - at lunch - and after work then that’s an hour’s decent exercise and much more time efficient than going to the gym.

I do a fair amount of incidental walking but walking for exercise is pretty inefficient - as someone who hates exercise, I would rather go all out doing 20 mins of HIIT than walk for two hours

As others have said, I see it as a chore and something to get out of the way, but I do it first thing. I do it at home so it takes the least possible time out of my day and 20 min videos or exercise bike. I found I’m way more likely to maintain a regular 20 min session habit than longer stuff. I used to love running but cannot get back into it. I make progress and then get some injury or illness hits our house and I have to start all over. I got sick of that. And had to talk myself into it way more than doing a quick 20 minute exercise video at home.

On another exercise thread, a poster gave the brilliant quote: ‘motivation is a flaky friend, habit is your homeboy’ 😁. It is so true and I remind myself of this when I drag my carcass off the settee - it is really hard to find the motivation a lot of the time, so you have to commit to a minimal level that you stick with, no matter what.

Great, so I have an action plan:

• see where I can be more active in daily life
• get in to a routine of 20minutes heavy weights daily
• look at an app that might help keep me on track
• sod the enjoyment factor and think of it like laundry
• try fencing

Exercise in front of the TV while watching a guilty pleasure show.

Also look up exercise snacking which might help tide you over until you can hike.

Yes, it is. HATE structured exercise apart from Tai Chi

I don't love exercise but after horrible back pain and successful spinal surgery I know if I don't strengthen my back I will have further problems. I crack on with a visit to the gym every other day. Only twenty minutes strengthening work.

I know I might still have problems down the line, but will definitely have them if I don't.

I am retired so have the time to do this.

I have a morning exercise routine, and I treat it like brushing my teeth - it has to be done.

I have built up to 12 exercises x 12teps and now use weights. It takes me 12 ish minutes and I can tolerate it. I used to do a 7 minute workout via an App, but now I designed my own base on Pilates.

I thoroughly recommend Pilates. The variety our teacher brings to the class is incredible, I now enjoy the hour and it’s not too hard that I don’t want to go again.

Try and be ‘good enough’, perfection is the enemy of enjoyment (20 mins is a lot 😆)